Til Death Do Us PartMaybe
by On the Hill
Summary: "If love came easy you would have to get your stress lines from somewhere else" Brooke thought as she sat at her desk putting the finishing touches on a design.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I finally made up my mind to write something. Some of my favorite authors made me want to post, you know who you are, I harass you enough. Please be gentle it's my first time (that's what she said). Anyway I don't own any of the characters, but if I did I would keep them in my pocket for my own personal use. Please review, I'd like to know how I did. Thanks.

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Til Death Us Part…Maybe

"Peyton, have you lost your fucking mind?" Brooke yelled at her as soon she had stopped the car at the red light on the deserted street.

"Me? This is my fault?" she asked back in a disbelieving tone.

"I cannot believe you just fucking said that to her", she turned toward the blonde with accusing eyes putting the car in park.

"Brooke, why are you jumping down my throat? Your mom is a bitch!" the green eyed beauty locked eyes with the furious pair of brown that stared at her.

"How would you like it if I told your dad that we had been fucking each other for the past 8 years as you so delicately put it" the infuriated brunette ran a hand through her hair trying to calm herself down.

"We haven't been just fucking for the past 8 years Brooke, but he already knows" she said, throwing an accusing look right back at her girlfriend. She hated that one of the only arguments that they consistently had, had to do with Brooke's mother and if they should tell her they were dating or not.

"Peyton, please, why do you always have to bring this shit up?" she sighed exasperated.

"Again, this is my fault?" she still eyed the brunette, "Brooke we've been dating since we were 16, don't you think you should have told her already?" she said, going on to mumble, "She probably already knows".

"It's not that easy to tell your parent that you're in a lesbian relationship Peyton. As I do recall, your dad walked in on us having sex when he came home from sea", she shot back, not appreciating the blonde's comment.

"It's been 8 years Brooke, my dad knows, our friends know, even the damn mailman knows. How long does this relationship have to wait for you to tell your mom so that we can move forward?" she asked staring at her lover.

"However long it fucking takes", the red faced girl shouted not being able to hold her tongue.

Feeling like she had been slapped in the face, Peyton eyed the other girl for a second, "That doesn't work for me", she chocked out, reaching for the door handle, "I'll walk", she continued, getting out of the car and slamming the door.

"Fuck", Brooke hit the stirring wheel with both hands. Knowing she needed to cool down before talking to her girlfriend, she put the car in drive heading toward her store to clear her head. Only two things took her mind off of stressful situations, and since she clearly couldn't fuck Peyton at the moment, she figured she'd design something. After sitting at her desk with pencil to paper for about 45 minutes, Brooke heard the chime for the front door.

"Baby, I'm sorry I blew up at you, you know how crazy Victoria makes me", Brooke said as she rounded the corner, thinking it could only be Peyton at this hour.

"How crazy _I _make _you_?" Victoria sneered, eyes squinted, scowl on her face as per usual.

"Jeez", Brooke jumped, startled by her mother's presence. _It's like she just materializes, as if being summoned by the devil himself, _she thought.

"Victoria, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to go back to New York?" the eyebrows over her chocolate brown eyes raising questioningly at her mother to stress her point.

"So you were serious, you're going to pick that whore over your own mother?" she said knowing which of Brooke's buttons to push.

"Victoria, I already warned you to watch what you say _to _and _about _Peyton. I won't ask again", she said, teeth clenched, reaching her limit with her mother's digs at her girl.

"And I already warned you that hanging around with that girl is going to gain you a bad image? How long do I need to do damage control on this? Do you know how hard it's been keeping the fact that you've been on your back with that girl for the past 8 years from the media?, the elder Davis said, enjoying the look of shock that crossed her daughter's face.

"You knew?" she asked clearly shocked, "You're such a bitch!" she said, realization finally dawning on her.

"Oh Brooke, stop being so dra…" she started, only to be interrupted by her irate daughter.

"For the past 8 fucking _years_ Victoria, I've been pissing all over Peyton's feelings trying to hide this from you, and you already knew" she said hotly. When she saw her mother opening her mouth she cut her off, "Don't fucking say it! I want you gone…you're fired, I'm done with you" she dismissively waved her hand towards the door.

"You can't fire me Broo…" she began to say only to be interrupted again.

"I said you're fired", Brooke stated calmly and firmly, knowing this was not a rash decision but something that should have been done a long time ago.

Being able to see in her only child's eyes that she was absolutely serious, Victoria turned on her heels heading for the door, but not before saying, "Don't come crying to me when the press gets wind of this, dear", she said, always one for the last word.

"I won't…Bitch" the brunette said, knowing what buttons of her mother's to press as well.

After Victoria had left Brooke got her phone out, hitting a couple of buttons she woke up her personal assistant, Milicent. After talking with her for about 15 minutes, Brooke locked up the store, got in her car again and headed to where she knew Peyton would be. Pulling the SUV up to the familiar bridge, Brooke got out and walked over to the blonde sitting on the ground. Looking at her love her heart sank, knowing she had caused the sniffles to go along with the puffy red rimmed eyes.

"Peyton, Baby, I'm sorry I was such a bitch" she said reaching for her hand, glad when it wasn't pulled away. She didn't receive a response, but Peyton did lean closer, dropping her head on Brooke's shoulder the same way she always did when they sat there. Kissing Peyton's straightened strawberry blonde hair the same way she always did when they sat there, Brooke started to tell her about the conversation between her and her mother.

"So what now?" the blonde asked, wondering how this would affect them.

"Well…now I'm just hoping you'll say yes", the brown eyed girl's voice sounded nervous but hopeful.

Peyton's eyebrows furrowed, wondering if she had missed something that Brooke had said, she moved her head slightly and caught sight of Brooke's hand. Seeing the opened small velvet box, Peyton removed her head from Brooke's shoulder completely to make eye contact.

"I called Milicent and told her to release a statement saying that Brooke Davis is now engaged to longtime girlfriend and love of her life Peyton Sawyer after she finally pulled her head out of her ass, I hope she doesn't have to retract that statement tomorrow" she said now eyeing the wide eyed blonde nervously.

Damn near tackling Brooke, Peyton kissed her like nothing they had ever shared before, conveying all her passion, love and want for the brunette in one act. They stayed like that for several minutes before things started to get heated and Brooke pulled away.

"I love you Peyt", she smiled slipping the five carat diamond onto a finger it would never come off of and pulling the blonde to her feet.

"I love you too Brooke", Peyton smiled back brightly and kissed her fiancée.

Wrapping her arm around Peyton's waist and leading her to the car Brooke said, "Come on baby, let's go home and go to bed, it's late…and I definitely think I should get laid because of how expensive that ring was" she smirked, not turning to see the smile she knew was on the other girl's face as they got to the car.

"I don't really think I can wait until we get home" Peyton said as she opened the back door of the SUV with one hand, climbing in and pulling Brooke in with the other.

Closing the door behind her and catching the shirt being thrown her way, Brooke crawled on top of Peyton thinking to herself that she was glad that she went with the bigger size ring. _Always go with the bigger size, _she thought as she locked lips with her forever.

"Til death do we part?" Peyton asked through the kiss.

"It's gonna take death to get me off of you, and maybe not even then" Brooke said attaching their lips again and undoing the button and zipper of the jeans that were now the only thing in her way of fucking her fiancée for the very first time.


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to make this a story instead of a one-shot and I've been going a little edit happy on the couple of chapters that I already have written, so sue me, unless you think I own any of the characters because I don't.

Chapter 2

_This is so fucking ridiculous, _Brooke thought as she sat at the counter in the kitchen looking through the pile of tabloids Milicent had sent to her the day before. _You would think that I was the first ever lesbian. _She huffed flipping through a tabloid that had multiple pictures of her and Peyton out together from stalker angles. Throwing the magazine to the side she looked at the next one that read: _Who turned Brooke Davis gay? _To go along with this cover, there were pictures of all the guys she had rumored to have dated; somehow even Lucas and Nathan's pictures were there. "Fucking Victoria"_, I know she had something to do with this; _she fumed tossing the magazine in the same direction as the last one. If Brooke was annoyed by the last couple of magazine covers she had seen, you could call her agitatedly pissed off at the one before her now. The cover was spilt down the middle with Brooke and Victoria on either side while the title read, _The Davis' at War, blood red is the color this season._ Actually opening this magazine to read the article, Brooke sat at the counter stewing, not noticing Peyton sleepily walk in the room.

"Where the hell did my pillow go?" Peyton yawned as she rested her head on Brooke's shoulder and draped her arms around her from behind.

"This is such bullshit" the brunette spit out, having not been paying attention to what Peyton had said.

"Baby what's got you so frustrated at 7 in the morning?" the blonde asked while pushing brown locks aside, laying kisses on the back of Brooke's neck and shoulder.

"Peyt stop" the preoccupied brunette said, swatting at the blonde like a fly. "She is such a bitch!" she stated, still having her eyes to the pages in front of her.

"Of course she is" Peyton said eyeing the tabloid then moving to stand with her back on the counter Brooke was sitting at, "But what did she do now?" she asked as she picked up Brooke's forgotten coffee mug and drank from it.

"What she always does!" she whined "Listen to this…Heading into fashion week, murder might just be on the runway as designer Brooke Davis and mother Victoria Davis go to war over Clothes Over Bros" Brooke read the story in the slightly raised voice she uses when nearing wits end.

Placing a hand on Brooke's upper thigh, Peyton leaned in on Brooke, "Baby, please stop reading those" she said, using her other hand to push the magazines aside, she placed gentle kisses on Brooke's lips and moved down her neck.

"But I know that Victoria is behind all of this negative publicity" she said in a slightly husky voice, already starting to lose concentration on her argument at Peyton's actions.

"Brooke?" Peyton murmured against Brooke's throat, feeling the other girl pull her closer by the hips.

"Humm?" she barely answered, all of the designer's concentration now focusing on the pulse point that her fiancée was sucking on.

"I'm about to take you on the counter, so could you please stop saying your mother's name?" she asked, biting the soft skin that was under her teeth at the end of her question.

Groaning, Brooke shifted Peyton so that her body was in between her own legs, she knew Peyton knew full well what she was doing. Brooke loved when Peyton talked aggressive, though the blonde rarely ever got to take the upper hand due to the effect it had on Brooke. The blonde knew that a couple of strategically placed words in her lover's presence was like throwing a match on gasoline. And now was no different as brown and green connected and Brooke helped to lift Peyton onto the counter. Placing her hands on Peyton's thighs, Brooke got up from her seat and stepped as far as she could in between her legs and attached their lips again. As her tongue maneuvered around Peyton's mouth laying claim to already possessed territory, Brooke started to move her hands up her thighs, under her shirt and to her breast, squeezing them hard. She was always like a different person when Peyton started moaning, she couldn't concentrate on anything but the woman in front of her. She knew how to please or tease Peyton if necessary; she had a very sensitive body as it was. So when Brooke started to firmly squeeze on one of Peyton's nipples, the blonde started to squirm on the counter top.

"Uh…Brooke", she moaned as she let her head loll back giving Brooke more space to work with as Brooke moved from cheek to ear, down her throat and to her collarbone. Peyton lifted her left hand and let her fingers pass through Brooke's shoulder length locks, palming the back of her head to hold her where she was. Her right hand moving to her thigh to cover Brooke's and guide it higher. Though Brooke always started off teasing Peyton, she did like how Peyton would not so subtly tell her what to do. Now was no different, as Brooke let Peyton hold her head still while she went to kiss and lick her way down the blonde's chest, and let her manipulate her hand like she was a puppet and move it towards her favorite place in the world. But Brooke was no puppet and though she didn't know what Brooke would do, Peyton knew she would do something. That's why it was no surprise when Brooke halted her hand's assent by slightly pinching the inside of Peyton's thigh.

"Fuuuck Brooke" the blonde music producer groaned at the heady feeling from the mix of pain and pleasure. She knew since they were kids that the brunette liked to be in control and that hadn't changed when they started dating. True to form Brooke gently took both of Peyton's hands and guided them to the counter top face down.

"Keep them there" the brunette softly ordered as she moved to unbutton Peyton's shirt and further have her way with her favorite blonde who was very compliant and relaxed now. But as Brooke licked, sucked and nipped all over Peyton's top half, the blonde scooted forward on the counter and slowly started to grind against Brooke's stomach.

"Oh God, Peyt", Brooke's libido went into overdrive as she gripped the other girl's waist, helping her with the grinding process and moved back up to claim her lips again. She was never able to resist the way that Peyton moved her hips, no matter what she was doing. And even though Brooke teased the hell out of Peyton, she was not one for foreplay. She always thought 'why wait and eat dessert after dinner when you could have it for breakfast'. Smirking into the kiss while her hands moved over Peyton's hips, under her shorts and grabbed her ass firmly she thought she _is_ having her dessert for breakfast.

"Brooke, please I…please stop teasing" Peyton mumbled as she pulled away for air. Although Peyton was use to Brooke winding her up so that her release would be delicious, due to their conflicting schedules all week they hadn't even been able to get in a quickie. So Peyton rocked her hips into Brooke once more to persuade her to move the process along.

When she looked into the darkened green eyes of her lover she knew that her blonde tressed beauty was in need of something that she was the only person to ever give her. She could also say that even with Peyton's hands slightly behind her and herself standing in between her legs, she had had Peyton open wider on numerous occasions. She also knew that with Peyton swiveling her hips and pouting like that, that the next couple of minutes would probably have the blonde screaming her name with no effort at all. This would definitely be fast and rough because they hadn't been with each other in like a week. That being her last thought, she moved her left hand to Peyton's hair gripping it tightly and claimed her lips again, this time roughly making Peyton moan loudly, she slide her right hand in between them to give one firm press and swipe to her girl's hot spot. Right as she was about to go two knuckles deep their front door opened.

"Hey Brooke I heard we turned you gay" the voice of one Nathan Scott came booming through the house.

Brooke and Peyton jumped from the sound of the voice and scrambled to get decent, but not in time as Nathan, Lucas and Haley came around the corner and into the kitchen. This might have been the quietest the kitchen had ever been with five grown adults standing in it.

"We did turn you gay!" Nathan said as he stared between the two girls.

Turning bright red, Peyton hurriedly re-buttoned her shirt while Brooke turned toward the three new arrivals behind her in hopes of shielding Peyton from their view.

"So fucking hot" He continued as he couldn't help but to stare wide eyed at the almost half naked blonde spread out like a cheese platter on the kitchen counter.

"Nathan" Both Brooke and Haley shouted as they simultaneously slapped him on the arms.

"Quit staring at her like that" Brooke said hotly as she eyed both guys still watching an embarrassed Peyton redo her shirt.

"Sorry" was the mumbled response as they both averted their eyes.

"Oh God, I'm so glad we left Jamie with Skillz this morning" Haley said as she put her hand to her head.

"To what do we owe the pleasure so bright and early on a Saturday morning?" Brooke asked irriatedly as she caught the way Lucas was still watching Peyton.

"We saw these when we were checking out at the grocery store this morning and came to see how you guys were doing" Haley said, holding up some of the same tabloids that Brooke had been looking at earlier.

"Yeah, but if we knew you were _doing _each other we would've waited…or watched through the window" he chuckled as he watched Brooke move forward to let Peyton slide off the counter and onto a barstool.

"You're such a fucking perv Nate" Brooke said as Peyton opened her legs and Brooke leaned back against her.

"I'm a lucky girl" Haley stated sarcastically as everyone moved around the kitchen to find somewhere to sit.

"Cat got your tongue Broody?" Brooke couldn't help but comment as she caught the way he looked at Peyton again. _I fucking hate the way he's always staring at her._

"I…I didn't know you had a tattoo Peyton" he said watching the only other blonde in the room.

"Yeah um, Brooke and I got matching tattoos for our 16th birthdays" she said, hating that he had seen the tattoo on her pelvic bone. Feeling Brooke tense at Lucas' comment Peyton draped her arms over Brooke's shoulders, figuring she wasn't alone in her thoughts.

Sensing the mood change Haley tried to change the subject as well with the tabloids, "Oh, I see you guys have already been to the store this morning".

"Tutor Girl, no one is up shopping at 6 o'clock in the morning" Brooke stated, glad to be off of the subject of Peyton's tattoo.

"Hey, _we_ are" Nathan said while waving his thumb in between himself and Lucas.

"That's because you're both Haley's bitches" she stated matter of factly.

"So if Peyton asked you to go to the store with her you wouldn't?" Nathan asked.

"Peyton and I have way better things to do that early in the morning" Brooke smirked.

"Clearly", Nathan said with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Oh God" Peyton said while dropping her head on her arm that rested on Brooke's shoulder.

"Moving on…" Haley stated, trying to get Nathan to stop teasing their two friends for something they had all known for years.

"Please?" Peyton mumbled with her head still down, willing her face to turn back to its natural color.

"Are you guys okay with all of this?" Haley continued for no other reason now than to grant Peyton's wish.

"Yeah I mean is this true? I thought you fired your mom." Lucas pointed to the tabloid, finally commented on something that wasn't central to Peyton as he usually did.

"Yeah well, it turns out it's harder than you'd think to fire someone who works for you. It turns out that she owns a nice little chunk of stock in COB and can't be fired but has to be voted out by me and the board members in some stupid board meeting." The brunette started to ramble again and Peyton just slightly squeezed her, knowing there wasn't a whole lot else she could do with their friends standing there staring at them.

"How much stock? I mean can she take the company from you?" Nathan asked all jokes aside now. Though Nathan clowned around a lot he also knew that by the look on Brooke's face that this situation was serious. Nathan knew that Victoria never wanted anything to do with Brooke and was never even around until it started to benefit her own bank account. He could attest to this, he had known Brooke and Peyton since the age of 5 and they all had the same kindergarten teacher. _Oh how I hated Mrs. Juniper._ He knew growing up that you might see Brooke's parents two to three times a year if you were lucky. They were her closest friends and they weren't often that lucky, most of the times they saw them they had luggage in tow, heading out the door. It wasn't hard to figure out that the only reason for the rare sighting was generally poor time management on her parent's part. That's why when the opportunity to start COB came and she told him she would be working with her mother, he told her to proceed with caution. Usually he could count on Peyton to watch the brunette's back but with them on opposite sides of the country getting their hands dirty in their careers of choice there really wasn't that option. So standing in their kitchen now, having this conversation with them felt like something, and he didn't know what, was coming back to bite them in the ass. _Karma. No, Victoria's got a bigger bite._

"I Still own the majority of COB with 57%, but I was talking to my lawyer's and it seems like the only two options are to completely buy her out or let her have her way, and the last one is not an option." Brooke stated with a shrug of her shoulders while rubbing the arms wrapped around her neck. She thought back to Victoria's _subtle_ ultimatum of her or Peyton and Brooke wanted to laugh at Victoria for thinking that decision hadn't already been made years ago. Even when they spilt up after high school, with Brooke going east and Peyton going west, the two girls still constantly talked and visited each other like the best friends they always were to begin with. Had Victoria ever been around she would have known that any decision Brooke made, she made with the blonde in mind. It had about killed her when they decided to go opposite ways in the pursuit of furthering their career choices, but after four years of visits between the two and hook-ups in the middle, her favorite being a tie between Iowa and Kansas because Peyton got super country there, they finally made the best decision they had in years and moved back home together.

"And you're financially okay to just buy her out? I mean you don't need any help?" Nathan asked, making sure Brooke was thinking clearly and that this wouldn't put a strain on his second and third favorite girls in the world.

"Yeah Brooke you're not worried?" Haley spoke up always the voice of reason for the group.

"Don't you think I would be at work instead of trying to fuck Peyton the kitchen counter if I was worried?" The fashion designer said making everyone in the room turn a slight shade of pink, with Peyton's being a little redder than everyone else.

"Brooke" Peyton half shrieked, truly embarrassed by her girlfriend's lack of tact. Though she wasn't at all shocked, this isn't even the raunchiest thing she'd said to others.

"Sorry" she said apologizing to Peyton first and then addressing the group again, "Me and Peyt talked about if Victoria tries to jack the price up and she'll help if I it comes to that, it isn't like the label is hurting for money right now with these damn instant superstars that she's over there creating. Anyways I don't want to talk about this anymore, it's putting a damper on this oh so nice day we have in front of us. So Nathan put your big brother in your pocket, Haley put your over-concerned mother in your fabulous handbag, Peyt put that red bikini on and Lucas…put your tongue back in your mouth. We need to get Jamie, call the rest of the gang and head to the beach." Brooke finished up her whirlwind with a cheerful smile.

Who could deny that it was a beautiful day that needed to be enjoyed, so after about twenty more minutes of half ass planning and calling other friends they headed their separate ways to get ready for fun in the sun. And surly with a bunch of high school friends mixed with new ones getting together in board shorts and bikinis to try and ward off the heat at the beach could only be fun right? They were taking a child with them and that worked as a censor of sorts…right?

Review because you it's author blackmail, you wouldn't want the next chapter to be held hostage.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the adds and reviews. This chapter could've gone on forever, I swear I just adding stuff to it. Anyway, on with the show...

Chapter 3

The large group of friends and family was spread out in the sand with coolers, blankets, towels and beach toys scattered between them. All of them laughing one on one or in smaller groups while they enjoyed each other's company, not at all being too loud or rowdy. Everyone on the beach was just trying to soak up the last bits of summer sun, so the gorgeous blonde and brunette in small bikinis whispering to each other, or the well-toned athlete talking to a shorter bald black guy seemed to be having a good time. The same could be said for the mother and son not too far ahead of them building a sandcastle. If you scanned their group a little more, there were about 4 or 5 more guys in board shorts, some with girlfriends some without, setting up a volleyball net, and if the bickering was to attest to how well it was going, it wasn't going very well.

"You swear like we don't do this all the time guys, it's like Groundhog Day around here" Lucas said as he came up behind Fergie, grabbing the pole out of his hand he was fumbling with. "Nate, Skillz I need a couple of brains over here" he yelled to the two men probably in conversation about coaching the upcoming basketball season.

"Two of them equal one Haley, you know she has the biggest brain of all" Brooke said from her spot behind Peyton as she rubbed sun block on her.

"Hey! When did it become uncool to be smart?" Haley said as she got up from the sand and headed over to the guys with Jamie on her heels.

"It was always uncool Hales, but thank God you married me" Nathan said as he scooped up his son, turning him upside down and spinning him around, receiving squeals of delight from Jamie.

Already helping Lucas stabilize the net Haley spoke again, "Nathan put him down before you end up giving him brain damage and I have to be his tutor as well", getting her husband back for his jib.

Nathan did stop to put his son down, but only to laugh along with everyone else; it wasn't that often that Haley got the best of him in the jokes department.

"Yeah daddy put me down, because mama said you were a dork when she met you" the little blonde boy said, getting everyone in earshot to laugh again.

"A dork?" Nathan said aloud, turning to look at Haley. When he received unanimous 'yeah's' from the group he turned to look at his retreating son.

"I could have used other words Nate…truer words" she said, not looking up from what she was doing.

"I was not a dork!" Nathan said as he finally gave chase to his son, closing the distance easily due to his longer legs.

"Aunt Brooke, Aunt Brooke save me" the little boy said through his laughter as he threw himself at the brunette.

"I'll save you buddy" she said as she enclosed the boy in her arms, "You better leave my godson alone and pick on someone your own size Nate" she continued as she got up to run a couple of feet away with Jamie still in her arms.

"Is that right, someone my own size" the athlete said as he moved a couple of steps back to Peyton who was still sitting on the ground laughing at them.

"You aren't serious?" Peyton laughed, getting to her feet and backing away as she caught the mischievous glint in his eyes as he moved closer.

"I said someone your own size Nathan, you have like 100 pounds on her" Brooke slightly over exaggerated as she watched him approach her girlfriend.

Reaching out with his long arms, Nathan easily took Peyton captive, "The boy or the girl" Nathan said spinning around and smirking at Brooke.

"Damn Brooke, you got some tough decisions to make" Junk yelled to her as everyone watched the playful standoff.

"No tough decisions…you always pick the kid" Brooke shrugged, calling Nathan's bluff.

"As you wish Davis" Nathan said, his smirk growing even wider as he threw Peyton over his shoulder and ran for the waterline.

"Nate don't you dare" the blonde yelled as she flailed her legs and smacked his lower back with her hands.

The last things either one of them heard before they went under water were cheers of "do it", "yeah", "go for it" and "oh my God, he did it". When they both finally came up for air, Peyton jumped on Nathan's back and threatened him to return her to dry land or else. When they got back to the beach, Nathan got smacked 4 times, once on the back of the head by Peyton when she climbed off his back, once on the arm by Haley as she gave them both towels, once in the stomach by Brooke who still had Jaime in her arms and once on the back by a smiling Skillz.

"Don't think I didn't hear you either Skillz, _Go for it_" Peyton repeated as she swatted him on the arm and playfully glared at him.

"Hey" Skillz said as he rubbed his arm, "Keep hitting people and you're gonna get your skinny ass thrown back in the water" he finished then jumped out of the way of another swat.

"Are you okay baby?" Brooke asked Peyton as she put Jamie down and moved over to her girlfriend, helping her dry herself off.

"You care now?" Peyton asked as she pouted and let Brooke take control of the towel.

"Of course I care" Brooke said wiping the water off of Peyton's face.

"But I could have drowned" the blonde pouted more.

"I would never let you drowned baby", the brunette said as she pulled her girlfriend towards her, "And don't pout" she said in a husky voice while she eyed Peyton through her sunglasses.

"Why?" Peyton teased, her fake pout turning into a smile.

"Because everyone's standing like 10 feet away from us, and I didn't get to have my way with you this morning" Brooke told her, holding her a little tighter. She didn't need to tell the blonde that when she pouted at her it turned her on, Peyton already knew that and it was most likely the only reason she did it. Peyton was about to reply when they were interrupted.

"We're not as far away as you think" Nathan whispered from right over Peyton's shoulder as he smirked at Brooke.

"I think we need to find different friends Peyt, clearly we've known these ones too long" Brooke spoke while staring at Nathan with a fake smile on her face.

"Yeah well, it'll have to wait until later cause I need Sawyer, we're about to start the game" He told Brooke completely disregarding her last statement, it wasn't like it was the first time he'd heard it.

"You want me to be on your team when you just threw me in the damn ocean?" Peyton asked incredulously, turning toward their longtime friend with her hand on her hip.

"Come on Sawyer, you barely got wet, besides you're always on my team" Nathan said by way of an explanation.

"Beg" Peyton said to Nathan with a raised eyebrow.

"Fuck, I love it when my girl gets feisty" Brooke eyed Peyton, completely serious.

"Come on Sawyer, please" Nathan said through laughter at Brooke's comment, "Please, we're the only good ones, we're always on the same team" he whined further while shaking her arm like he had seen Jamie do to Haley to get his way.

"Fine, let me put on my shorts" the blonde pulled her arm away and headed for her bag.

"Plus its tradition … and we have a standing record" He continued, smiling as he got his way and pulling his sunglasses over his eyes as he stood next to Brooke.

"Turn it off Nate, she already said yes" Brooke said to him, hitting him in the stomach again, "Let her put her shorts on so your brother's not ogling her ass" she muttered under her breath as she caught Lucas out of the corner of her eye doing just that.

"You beg nicely by the way Nate, you really should buy Jamie something for teaching you that" Peyton said walking back up to them as she put her hair in a ponytail.

"Hey, I taught _him_ that…it's all in the blue eyes" Nathan said as Peyton took Brooke's hand and the three friends made their way towards the volleyball net and the rest of the group.

When Nathan had said it was a tradition, he wasn't lying. He and Peyton had been playing beach volleyball since before their teens with Brooke as their own personal cheerleader. They had only played together and had never lost. And why would they with Nathan's six foot four athletic body and Peyton's leggy, toned frame standing at a lickable five nine. They had always joked that if they ever added co-ed beach volleyball to the Olympics, that they would make Brooke their coach and get gold every time. So in high school when they had started to play the game with their friends, they saw no need to mess with the successful 'empire' that they had all built together. Today was no different in the winning state that they had become accustomed to. With Brooke on the side line critiquing their misses and praising their makes, the duo was unstoppable no matter who they were paired against.

After about their fourth match of "smashing" their friends, as Nathan had put it, four guys from further up the beach came and asked to play a friendly game against the group. As they waited for the groups fifth member to get back from the restroom the two groups chatted finding out that they were from two towns over and had actually played basketball against some of the guys in high school. And it had been friendly until their fifth friend finally came and they noticed who it was.

"Oh hell no!" Skillz said as he saw who it was coming towards the groups.

The comment had everyone curiously eyeing the newcomer to see if it could really be that bad. And it was.

"Damien West" Haley said when she saw who it was, she then looked over to both Brooke and Peyton with a concerned expression on her face.

Her expression only grew when she saw Peyton's rigid stance and Brooke's eye's flickering between her girlfriend and the newcomer, the only difference between Haley and Brooke's eyes were that Brooke's also held regret.

Damien West was a door in Peyton and Brooke's life that took most of their friends getting behind them to close. Him waltzing up with that stupid smirk on his face isn't doing anything but opening up that door and letting all the shit that was shoved behind it out.

Brooke felt like she wanted to throw up when she reached for Peyton's hand and the blonde pulled it back like she had just touched an iron. When she looked at her girlfriend she saw a look similar to one she had seen on her face at a party when they were 17; it was a look she would never forget. 7 years ago Brooke had almost lost Peyton because of astupid mistake.

When Brooke had overheard Haley and Nathan talking about Lucas telling Haley that he had kissed Peyton, Brooke was floored. She immediately hunted down her girlfriend and bombarded her with questions, but when the only thing she got from the blonde was silence and guilty eyes, she didn't stay to hear anything else. Feeling like shit, Brooke slipped back into a repetition of alcohol and parties that she had previously crawled out of. She had wanted to be a better person for Peyton; she felt the blonde deserved the very best of her. But Brooke thought that if Peyton was going to be a lying, cheating whore, then fuck it. So she avoided Peyton like the plague for a week, not letting the blonde explain her side of the story. If she had, she would've found out that Lucas had surprised Peyton with a kiss 6 months before on the day of the school shooting, right before Nathan and her had found them in the library. Brooke would have also heard that Peyton felt completely guilty for not having told her about the kiss because Lucas had apologized and begged her not to tell the brunette. But she didn't listen, and that's why everything came to a head after a game one Friday night at a party. Feeling extra shitty after having spent the last two hours watching Peyton in her cheerleading outfit and Lucas damn there leaving a puddle of drool at the blonde's feet, Brooke felt the need to get trashed. And trashed she got. So trashed to the point where she had ended up sleeping with Damien West, an arrogant, cocky asshat from the rivaling school that they had played against that night.

Peyton had giving Brooke the space that she had demanded days earlier, but when she noticed the other cheerleader's disappearance from the party, she had a gut feeling she was probably doing something stupid if her actions for the past week were any indication. So in search of Brooke she went, ready to take her home like she had been for the past week; not like the brunette knew or even cared how she got home when she woke up the next day. No doubt that if you asked Peyton how she felt when she opened the bathroom door at that party she would have said she died a little at the sight in front of her. A drunk Brooke with Damien fucking her on the bathroom sink had a devastated Peyton backpedalling, but not before she caught the brunette's eyes. As the blonde haphazardly made her way out of the house, she bumped into Nathan and Haley and with teary green eyes asked if they could get Brooke home safely tonight and darted towards her car.

Normally Nathan would have gotten a kick out of kicking Damien West's ass, but he was way more annoyed with Brooke who was hurriedly fixing her clothes to do anything other than lay the idiot out with one punch. Driving a drunk Brooke home was usually a quite affair for the sake of her head, but Nathan couldn't hold his tongue, so he yelled at her. The basketball player had told her everything that her girlfriend had been trying to tell her for the past week. He would have felt bad when Brooke broke down and started crying, but she hadn't seen Peyton as she ran from the party to her car. Brooke didn't she her eyes and how utterly broken the blonde looked. So he continued to yell at Brooke until they got to her house where he told Haley to stay with her and he would go see about Peyton. And though it took everyone months of groveling and begging to get their relationships back on track, they did.

That's not to say that they ever needed to see Damien West again as a reminder of one really fucked up year. So the people standing on the beach now, that knew the backstory behind Damien saw nothing wrong with Nathan's next comment.

"Oh fuck no, we're not playing with this guy" Nathan said quickly resending his invitation for a friendly game as he clenched his fists.

"Daddy" Jamie said, sensing his father's mood change and wanting him to be happy again; his father rarely got angry.

"It's okay buddy" Nathan picked Jamie up, instantly changing his tone when he remembered his son's presence. He looked toward Peyton and Brooke, who he considered family, to see if they were okay.

"Well the gangs all here, plus some" Damien said as he looked around the group. "Fuck me, Brooke Davis" he said after he noticed where Nathan's eyes had gone.

"Hey, come on guys we could get in one game before the sun sets" One of the guys that were with Damien said trying to break the tension that was threatening to bust a hole in the ozone layer.

"No guys were done" Haley said as she watched an upset Peyton get more agitated by Damien's mere mention of Brooke's name.

"Well me and you, Brooklyn Davis, could have our own private game…a high school reunion of sorts" Damien said licking his lips.

"Ugh" Brooke said disgustedly. It didn't help his cause any that he was calling her by her whole first name and no one did that except for her parents that weren't around enough to know she hated it.

"Oh come on don't be like that, if I remember correctly we never did get to finish what we started that night" Damien continued as he reached to pull Brooke towards him by her waist.

"Don't touch me" Brooke hissed, pushing him away as he brought up the past event she hated herself for.

A lot of shifting happened in a very short time with the group of people standind close to each other after Brooke spoke. Brooke shifted backwards to avoid Damien's touch, Nathan shifted Jamie into Haley's arms to free his own and a couple of the guys from both sides shifted like there might be a fight. Everyone was a little too caught up to notice that maybe the most important shift of all was the shift Peyton made as she turned on her heels to leave.

"I could've sworn I told you once to never touch her again" Nathan stated through gritted teeth as he moved to stand in front of Brooke.

"Well if it isn't cock blocking Nathan Scott. I'm sure she would've fucked you by now if she wanted it" Damien smirked when he saw Nathan's jaw clench.

"Dawg, you might wanna watch ya mouth" Skillz said stepping up next to Nathan.

"Where's Aunt Peyton going?" Jamie asked while Nathan and Skillz continued to trade verbal shots with Damien.

That got Brooke's attention away from Nathan who she thought she might have to pull back. As she turned her head she noticed that Peyton wasn't standing beside her anymore, and a quick swivel of her body and searching eyes had her looking at the beach behind them and spotting the blonde walking back towards their stuff. She had already been moving towards where Peyton was when she heard Lucas speak.

"I'll check to see if she's okay" he stepped forward to volunteer.

"I got it Lucas" Brooke ground out, not looking back at him as she continued to move towards Peyton. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, she felt ready to bite his head off at his eagerness to console her girlfriend.

As Brooke made her way to Peyton she had been trying to figure out if the blonde was angry or emotional so she would know how to proceed, but the closer she got, the more distinct the answer became as she watched her girlfriend yank her shirt on and throw some stuff into her bag. _Proceed with caution _lights and signs flashed in Brooke's mind_._

"Peyt?" Brooke called when she got a few feet away from the blonde.

"I don't want to talk about it Brooke" Brooke's suspicions were confirmed when she heard the comment made through gritted teeth as the blonde kept her back to her.

"Peyton stop, what are you doing?" Brooke reached for Peyton's arm to stop her from throwing more stuff into her bag.

"I'm getting my shit" she said as she pulled her arm out of Brooke's grasp.

"Why?" Brooke asked as she continued to watch her gather her things.

"I'm going home" Peyton stated.

"Why?" the brunette asked her again, she didn't want to anger her anymore than she clearly was already, but she needed the blonde to stop and talk to her.

"I'm not feeling well all of a sudden" Peyton said as she slipped her bag over her shoulder.

"Peyton, please" Brooke begged and reached for the blonde's arm again as she started to walk off.

"Please what Brooke?" the blonde whirled around and Brooke noticed that her green eyes were misty.

"Please don't just run off" Brooke said, instinctively she wanted to reach for the blonde when she looked like this. Even though Brooke knew that Peyton's tears could have been angry tears, she still wanted to comfort her.

"Why? You would rather I stand here and listen to him bragging about fucking you?" the blonde asked in a raised voiced as tears started to spill over.

When Brooke noticed that their conversation was drawing the attention of the people that were sitting close by, she grabbed Peyton's hand making her drop her bag and started to walk them towards one of the lifeguard towers no one was at. Normally she would back off and give Peyton space, but she knew this was a very sore subject for her and she didn't want to leave the blonde by herself to dwell on it without her at least giving some input.

"Let go Brooke" Peyton said as they walked and she tried to pull her hand loose.

"No" Brooke stated, hoping that her calmness would have an effect on her girlfriend, but tightening her grip nonetheless.

When they reached the tower Brooke turned to Peyton when she felt her pull her hand away. Letting it go she eyed the other girl and watched as she sat in the sand and pulled her knees toward her chest staring at the water. Brooke came to sit next to her, but gave her space and a couple minutes of silence. As she looked around she saw that some of their friends were taking down the net they had been playing with and the others had moved back to their things to collect them. It wasn't just their friends though, most of the people on the beach were doing the same. That's when she noticed that the sun was starting its daily decent and the temperature was following it. The sniffle from beside her drew her attention back to her problem. Figuring that she had given Peyton the quite that she knew she needed, Brooke moved to her knees in front of the blonde and rested her hands on the other girl's knees.

"Talk to me Peyt" Brooke said as she tilted her head to look into Peyton's eyes, her raspy voice nothing if not calm.

"Brooke, I said I didn't want to talk about it" This time when Peyton said it, Brooke noted how she didn't sound angry anymore she sounded like she was trying to hold back more tears, it was like the first time they had talked after the initial incident.

"Yeah you want to run and I'm not gonna let you do that" Brooke said as she continued to watch as Peyton kept her eyes toward the water.

"Why" Peyton asked her as she finally looked at her.

"Because that's not going to solve this" Brooke stated the obvious. When Peyton had been silent for a couple more long seconds, Brooke prodded her, "Peyt? "

"What do you want me to say Brooke? This stings" the blonde looked directly into Brooke's eyes, knowing she would be able to see she was telling the truth.

"I know and I'm so sorry baby, but I thought we put this behind us?" Brooke said as she rubbed Peyton's knees, trying to give her any sort of comfort right now.

"It's not behind us, it's walking down the beach in the ugliest pair of shorts I've ever seen" the blonde said after she had let out a sardonic laugh while staring down the beach at Damien's retreating form.

"Don't do that" Brooke stated firmly, because she absolutely hated when Peyton laughed that way. Though it was almost never used on her, Brooke knew that it was a defense mechanism that Peyton used to push people away.

"What do I get to do then Brooke?" brows raised above green eyes as they stared into brown ones.

"You get to quit acting like pushing me away right now is going to fix anything Peyton. Baby he doesn't fucking matter, I love you" Brooke said with all the conviction she had in her.

"I just don't like having it thrown in my face, you don't know how it feels" Peyton told her, her hardened disposition faltering as more tears slipped from her eyes.

"You're right and I'm so sorry" Brooke apologized again, hating that this was something that still bothered the blonde.

"I hate that this ruined today" the blonde said noticing too that the sun was setting and their friends were standing around talking to each other. After a few moments of silence and Brooke rubbing soothing circles on her legs she had calmed down.

"I know, and it started out so well" Brooke said to further put distance between themselves and Damien West as she noticed Peyton's mood changing.

"You never know" Peyton said looking Brooke in the eyes again, "It could always end the way it started" she finished, willing to put the Damien West incidents behind them as well.

Picking up on Peyton's tone she saw that her eyes were a bit of a darker shade of green then they normally were, so she leaned forward, slipping her hand into blonde hair and taking Peyton's lips. As Peyton gave into the kiss, her legs opened and Brooke leaned forward between them and put her free hand down to give her leverage. Too caught up in what Peyton was doing with her tongue, Brooke ignored her name being called; only stopping when a flash of light interrupted her kiss. Blinking to clear her stunned vision, she turned toward the flashing that continued to see a guy with a camera.

"What the hell?" Peyton said as she shielded her eyes from the light with Brooke who was still leaning over her.

When realization finally hit Brooke as to what was happening she got up, pulling Peyton to her feet as well.

"Brooke could I get a picture?" the paparazzo asked as he continued to snap shots of the two.

"Thanks but no thanks" Brooke said tersely as she pulled Peyton along at the same time noticing her male friends heading their way.

"Peyton, how do you feel being the cause of the rift between Brooke and her mom?" the guy asked as he continued to take pictures.

"Dude, don't do that!" Nathan stated as he put his hand up in front of the lens after finally making his way over to them.

"Nathan Scott! Is it true that you and Brooke had a love child in high school?" the camera man asked now that the ex- basketball star had stepped into his sight.

"Jeez" Mouth laughed along with his friends as he helped usher Brooke and Peyton past the man he considered a notch above Peeping Tom.

As they finally got to the rest of the group, the camera man made a mental note that he would have to tell his editor that they were potentially sitting on a gold mine. He had been sent from New York to get a story on Brooke Davis, the famous designer who had to everyone's shock, announced her relationship with a high school friend who turned out to be a girl and started an essential power tug of war with her mother in her fashion house. But standing here on the beach now, he saw a couple more recognizable faces. He saw that the high school friend had in fact been Peyton Sawyer, an indie music producer that was famous in her own right. He saw that they were clearly close friends with Nathan Scott, an ex- shooting guard for the Charlotte Bobcats but now coached high school basketball, who was married to Haley James-Scott who had toured with The Wreckers and Chris Keller several years ago and co-produced at times. He saw Lucas Scott, brother to Nathan and an established author of an astronomy book if he remembered correctly; something about stars or comets he couldn't wrap his head around. And last but not least he saw Marvin 'Mouth' McFadden, local sports personality. He knew that once he told his editor about this he was going to get told to set up shop. He was slightly baffled as to how many famous people could come out of one small ass town in the middle of nowhere. But he continued to snap shots and shoot off questions that were geared more towards shock value than anything as he watched them all get in their cars and leave. Heading towards his own he sifted through the pictures that he had gotten from today alone and knew that if he stayed long enough he would get his money's worth, because everyone knew that with small towns came small town gossip and with small town gossip came small town drama. _You just have to be willing to look for it._


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, I bet you guys would be really mad if I said that this chapter has been written and I just forgot to post it. So I'm not going to say that, what I will say is if that did happen I would apologize. (Sorry). Thank you guys for reading and reviewing, for the adds as well. It's always nice to know that people are interested in the that runs around in my head. xFauxdilocksx if you did happen to "accidently" remove Hilarie and Sophia from OTH Con I'm sure we could all pitch in for bail.

Chapter 4

"I cannot believe you two had a love child together and failed to mention it to us" Peyton said with mock indignation, throwing a tabloid on the table Brooke, Nathan and Jamie were sitting at in the diner as she and Haley walked up to it.

"Shut up Peyt" Brooke said as she moved the paper from in front of her, still slightly annoyed at this latest bit of gossip.

"I mean what did you name it?" Peyton said as she kissed Brooke on the forehead and slid into the booth beside her making everyone laugh.

"Hey, we would make a cute kid!" Nathan said only to receive a slap in the gut by Haley who had slid in next to him and a glare from Brooke.

"Is this the little tike?" Peyton asked, reaching across Brooke and ruffling Jamie's hair as he laughed while he played with his handheld video game.

"Peyton, it's not funny" Brooke laughed through the pout she was trying to hold.

"I'm sorry, it's not" the blonde said as she kissed Brooke on the cheek this time, "But Nate, you could have been collecting child support from your baby mama all these years" she continued making everyone laugh again.

"I hate you right now" Brooke said sulkily to Peyton as she eyed the tabloid Nathan had picked up to read.

"Oh baby, no you don't" Peyton leaned in to kiss Brooke on the lips, "In fact, I have a video that has you screaming otherwise" she smirked, whispering the last part in Brooke's ear and then biting it.

Brooke turned beet red, but she couldn't even focus on her embarrassment for long because of her surprise at Haley spitting the orange juice she had been drinking across the table.

"Ew mama, that's gross" Jamie said wiping off his game.

"Great aim Tutor Mom, I'm sure that's considered child abuse somewhere" Brooke said as she wiped the little boy down with a napkin.

"I'm so sorry baby" Haley said as she reached across the table with a napkin of her own.

"_Please_ tell me there's really a video tape?" Nathan begged Peyton, having completely disregarded the tabloid when he heard the blonde's whisper.

"A full tape" Peyton wiggled her eyebrows at him and laughed.

"Peyton!" Brooke all but shouted.

"Oh God" Nathan groaned as he clutched the tabloid in his hands and dropped his head on the table making Haley roll her eyes at him.

"What?" Peyton asked when Brooke glared at her.

"Will you just order something to put in your mouth please" the brunette said as she pushed a menu in her girlfriend's chest.

"So many jokes" Nathan mumbled as he kept his head on the table making the blonde laugh.

"Nathan knock it off, I swear you're such a child sometimes" Haley said as the waitress came up to the table to take their orders, effectively ending the conversation.

"Are you sure you guys are okay to keep Jamie for the next couple of days?" Haley asked Brooke and Peyton as they walked in the parking lot after having finished breakfast.

"For the last time Haley, yes" an exasperated Brooke answered.

"Yeah, it's like having a dog, except you have to feed him more right?" Peyton asked as she carried Jamie toward the cars.

"He only barks a little" Nathan said as he put his arm around Haley's shoulder.

"Hey, I don't bark" Jamie said as he continued to play his game.

"We'll call you Fido" Peyton said as she tickled Jamie's belly.

"Oh God" Haley groaned, "Maybe this was –'' she started to say but was interrupted by Brooke.

"Jesus Haley, she's just joking" her frustration with the mom started to kick in.

"She's right I am" Peyton said as she put Jamie down to answer her ringing cell phone, "Hey daddy…you'll never guess what happened, me and Brooke got a puppy" she laughed as she stepped away from the group to talk to her dad.

"Hales I swear I won't let her treat your child like a dog…and we'll only use one of those child backpack leashes when we go to the store" Brooke laughed as they approached her car.

"It's so funny until you guys have a kid, then we'll see who's laughing" Nathan said over his shoulder as he walked to Haley's car to get Jamie's booster seat.

"With a perfectionist and a neat freak as parents that kid is bound to need therapy" Haley smiled at Brooke.

"Hey, I am not a neat freak" Brooke said, wiggling Jamie by his shoulders as he stood in front of her.

"But you are a perfectionist. I remember you almost killed me in high school when you started COB" Nathan looked over the roof of his wife's car.

"Nate, you were sewing the buttons on the cuffs of the pants" Brooke said, remembering the time she thought about taking her friend's head off with a seam ripper.

"What did you expect from him back then, he was just shy of a textbook jock" Haley laughed at the memory.

"Hey at least I figured out how to sew…and those were a bold fashion statement" Nathan said as he walked back toward them with the booster seat and Jamie's overnight bag.

"Yeah well, hand to God, I'll do a better job with your son then you did as a seamstress" Brooke laughed as she took the duffle bag from Nathan's shoulder.

"And I would appreciate it to because he's my only namesake" he laughed.

"Just think of it this way, if we break this one, you can have another one" Peyton said, coming back into the conversation after ending her call.

Brooke wanted to ask Peyton what had happened with her dad, because the blonde's eyes were saying something completely different than what she was portraying. Looking at her she could also tell that the blonde didn't want to talk about it at the moment, so she had to let it go for now.

"Okay, you guys remember when his bed and naptimes are right?" Haley winced after the question came out of her mouth, her mothering going into overdrive as she prepared to leave the state her only child was in.

"Yeah yeah Tutor Mom, no ice cream for breakfast, jumping on the bed or running out in traffic, boring" Brooke said with a roll of her eyes as she opened the car door.

"I know all the scars he has Brooke" Haley laughed as she kissed the top of Jamie's head.

"Nothing a little concealer won't cover up until we're well outta town" Brooke said after she stepped back to let Nathan put the booster seat in the back of the car.

"You remember our phone numbers right Jamie?" Nathan joked from inside the car.

"What is it Peyton?" Haley said when she saw the other girl looking off into the parking lot.

"Just that stupid reporter again" the blonde pointed toward him as he snapped their pictures.

"Dammit" Brooke said as her earlier frustration with her privacy being invaded kicked in.

"It looks like that's going to be a problem" Haley said and then grabbed Nathan's arm as he started to walk towards the man, "Leave it alone Nate" she said, hoping that her husband wouldn't lose his temper.

"One fucking day without that guy hiding behind trashcans, blending in with brick walls or trying to pump information out of everyone" Brooke vented, "I expect this shit in New York, but not here" she flung her hand towards the reporter to emphasize her point.

"You guys sure you can keep Jamie?" Haley asked the same question again, but everyone knew it was for a completely different reason this time.

"We'll be fine Hales. When you come back, Jamie will be in one piece just like the day you bought him home and…" the blonde couldn't finish her sentence because Haley cut her off.

"And Aunt Brooke will watch her potty mouth, won't you Aunt Brooke?" Haley eyed the brunette with a stern look after hearing another expletive slip from her mouth.

"Nathan says way worse than I do, but yes, Aunt Brooke will watch her potty mouth" Brooke said, laughing when she heard Nathan smack his lips as he buckled Jamie into his seat.

"Thank you guys for watching Jamie" Haley said as she then Nathan hugged the three, said their goodbyes and were wished safe travels.

When Brooke and Peyton were in the car and headed down the road, Brooke couldn't take not knowing anymore and asked Peyton about the conversation she had had with her dad. When she had to ask the blonde twice, she knew it couldn't be anything good.

"He, he said he was thinking about staying up in Maine instead of coming back" the blonde said as she watched trees go by out the window.

"You're such a daddy's girl Peyt" Brooke said as she squeezed Peyton's hand that was on her thigh.

"He would have to be around for that to happen" the blonde said bitterly.

"I thought he said he was going to start slowing work down?" Brooke glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Jamie had started playing his game again with the headphones in then looked over to Peyton, knowing that this topic really bothered her.

"Yeah, that's what he's been saying since we were 9" Brooke looked at Peyton again and saw green eyes rolling in the reflection of the window.

"What do you want to do baby?" Brooke asked, not really sure what to do about the situation herself.

"Nothing, it's his decision, he can do whatever he wants" Peyton said from the passenger seat.

Brooke knew that this was eating Peyton up, it was the one thing that bothered Peyton that she was never able to fix and she hated it. Brooke remembered Peyton coming to her house in tears the summer before high school saying that she thought her dad hated her. When Brooke asked why she would think that, the blonde gave her a list of examples. The fact that Larry Sawyer went back to work less than a week after Anna Sawyer had died and was never home more than a few days at a time had Brooke thinking about the glaring similarities to her own parents. Brooke knew that Larry loved Peyton, but she suspected that he never let himself grieve his late wife and being in the house that they built together, with his only child looking exactly like her mother, it might have been hard for him. The problem was that he never explained this to his daughter; he just went back to work and bought her whatever she wanted when he was in town, which wasn't for long. And though Peyton was a 24 year old adult who no longer lived with her dad, the brunette knew that when he did things like he's doing now, it just cut into the old wounds of her favorite blonde. Brooke made a mental to do list with only one thing on it: Call Larry Sawyer. Brooke would not have Peyton upset because yet another parent from Tree Hill couldn't get their shit together just a little for the sake of their children. She absolutely hated to see the blonde sad and God help the poor soul who was standing in the way of her making Peyton happy.

After taking Jamie miniature golfing for a couple of hours, then to a movie and dinner, Brooke and Peyton had effectively depleted the little boy's energy and decided to head home. As Peyton gathered a sleeping Jamie in her arms, Brooke grabbed their stuff out of the car; she also grabbed the mail out of the box as she made her way to the front door to unlock it. Walking into their house Brooke turned on the lights and dropped the bags by the door, the mail and keys on the side table and herself on the couch as she watched Peyton take Jamie's sleeping form to the guest room. Brooke heard Peyton come back into the living room and walk towards the door, she knew what the blonde was doing, she had done it every time they came home. With her heard lolled back on the couch, she could perfectly watch Peyton from her position. The blonde straightened the mail into a single pile and not just a mess, she placed Brooke's keys in the key bowl sitting on the same table Brooke had tossed her keys on, and she hung all the bags in the hallway closet right next to the front door.

"You're a freak" Brooke said as the blonde closed the closet door.

"And you're a slob, but these are just things we learn to live with" Peyton replied back, walking by the back of the couch.

"A slob?" Brooke asked incredulously as she grabbed Peyton's hand to stop her from walking by.

"Okay, maybe slob was too harsh…messy?" the blonde questioned as she was pulled closer.

"Really?" Brooke asked as she pulled the blonde again, this time making her stand over her while her head still rested on the back of the couch.

"Unorganized?" Peyton asked with a smile as she hovered over Brooke's upside down head.

"Horny" Brooke said as she pulled Peyton down into a kiss, "Really, really horny" she mumbled on the blonde's lips.

"No, you're crazy" Peyton broke their kiss, "Jamie's asleep in the next room" she finished as she pulled herself back into an upright position from behind the couch.

"Peyton please" Brooke whined as she let herself be pulled up from the couch, "We haven't had sex in like 3 weeks or something, I've already started to lose count" she said as she was led around the house while lights were flipped off.

"I thought you said you wouldn't whine about sex anymore?" Peyton slightly laughed as she turned the kitchen light off.

"That was when I was getting it all the time, you can't hold that comment against me now" Brooke dropped her forehead onto the back of Peyton's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Brooke, I was still in L.A. and you were in New York" Peyton reminded the brunette that her 'all the time' comment wasn't exactly true.

"Well we fucked more than this" Brooke mumbled from behind Peyton.

"No we didn't, so stop whining and watch your potty mouth Aunt Brooke" the blonde whispered as they made their way to their bedroom right across from the guest room.

As they closed the door to their room and got dressed for bed, Peyton listened to Brooke huff and mumble under her breath. Finishing and getting into bed Peyton turned to Brooke when she huffed again.

"I always find it quite amusing when you start acting like a big baby" the blonde said as she threw a leg over Brooke's waist and straddled her.

"Yeah well, don't act like this is anything new to you, you know how I get" Brooke said, automatically putting her hands on Peyton's hips to hold her in place and brought her closer to kiss her.

"Brooke, Jamie's across the hall" Peyton panted, breaking their kiss when she felt Brooke's hands slip under her shorts.

"That's why you should be really quite when I make you come baby" Brooke said against Peyton's throat as she continued to feel her up.

"Oh God" the blonde moaned as her girlfriend's thumb rubbed high inside her thigh.

"Shhh" Brooke bought Peyton's lips back to hers and started to kiss her again, this time slower than before.

Both girls were so startled by the knock on their bedroom door, that it made Peyton jump off and completely away from Brooke.

"Aunt Brooke?" Jamie's little voice whispered as the door opened.

"Yeah buddy, we're right here" Brooke said turning on the light on the nightstand as she tried to calm herself down.

"It was too dark in my room and I got scared, can I watch T.V. in here until I fall asleep?" Jamie asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Of course you can buddy, just don't tell your mom" Peyton said as she threw back the covers, "What do you want to watch?" she continued, grabbing the remote and catching Brooke out of the corner of her eye sulkily flop back on the bed.

"Jimmy Neutron or The Fairly Odd Parents, but I like Jimmy more" Jamie said as he crawled in between the two women and pulled the covers over himself.

"Yeah, Jimmy's way better" Peyton said finding the show and lying back when Brooke turned the light off. She almost laughed out loud when she looked at Brooke over Jamie's head and saw the pout she wore with her arm thrown over her eyes. She could be such a baby sometimes.

When Brooke's bladder woke her up in the middle of the night, all of her earlier frustration was gone at the sight in her bed. Well most of her frustration was gone; she still had an unsolved problem. But the image of Jamie with his head on Peyton's chest and a leg and arm thrown lazily over her was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. Getting back into bed she gently leaned over to kiss Peyton on the forehead so she didn't wake her. As Brooke lay back down to fall asleep, she thought that she might just be the luckiest person in the world if this is what she and Peyton's forever would feel like.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, this update is an apology of sorts because there was so much time in between my last updates. Even with that you guys still gave some awesome reviews, they're like fertilizer for the story. I love that you guys like the story so far, thanks. Oh, and majority wins, it's now left aligned.

Chapter 5

"How many do you think we should get buddy?" Brooke asked standing in the line of the doughnut shop with Jamie.

"I need 4" the little boy said while staring at all the different kinds of doughnuts on display.

"4?" Brooke looked down at Jamie with raised brows, slightly thrown off by his answer.

"Holes?" Brooke asked, thinking it impossible for the 5 year old to eat 4 full doughnuts.

"No, those ones" He said and Brooke looked into the glass case at the chocolate covered chocolate pastries he was pointing at.

"Jamie, you couldn't eat 4 of those" she said looking back toward him, "Shouldn't" she clarified when she noticed that his gaze hadn't moved from the case.

"But I want to be big just like my daddy" Jamie stared at her like she should already know the reason he wanted so many.

"Buddy that's going to make you big in the other direction" Brooke said, laughing at the confused expression on her nephew's face.

"Okay, I'll take that one" Jamie said pointing out a large cinnamon roll.

"Okay" Brooke said laughing at the thought that only Nathan's son could eat more than he weighed.

"What kind do you think we should get Aunt Peyton?" Jamie asked as they moved forward in the line.

"Sweetie, Peyton doesn't eat doughnuts" Brooke told him, riffling through her purse for her wallet.

"Why?" Jamie asked, his blue eyes showing a genuine curiosity; everyone he knew ate doughnuts.

"She ate too many when we were little and they made her sick, so she doesn't eat them anymore" Brooke laughed again at the innocent look on his face, but stopped when she noticed the man come through the door.

"Was she trying to be big like her daddy?" Jamie looked to the pastries again thinking Peyton's logic as a child was like his.

"You should ask her to tell you the story when we get to the studio" the designer said as she tried to keep the discomfort out of her voice.

Brooke internally groaned at the man that in the last couple of weeks had come to ware on her nerves. _Doesn't this guy have anything better to do? _Biting back the comment she would've directed at the pesky paparazzo if she didn't have Jamie with her, she put her hands on the little boy's shoulders and ushered him forward so that they could now order and get the hell out of there. For the last two weeks Ian Banks, the world's most annoying paparazzo had effectively been squatting in Tree Hill, asking everyone from the mailman to the local diner guests questions about Brooke and her friends. Every time she turned around he just so happened to be there taking pictures or asking questions. Just 2 days ago when she and Peyton had taken Jamie to the movies, he was there, taking pictures of them inside the theater. The only thing that stopped Brooke from giving him something other than a piece of her mind was Peyton coming up and reminding her that they had Jamie with them. But what got Brooke's blood boiling hotter was the way that he leered at Peyton, only resulting in Brooke and Jamie being pulled toward the car by the clearheaded blonde. The designer's aggravation only grew the more that she saw the man and his damn camera; she was use to her privacy being somewhat invaded in New York, she could kind of understand it, but this was Tree Hill dammit. They were all but being stalked and it frustrated her that she couldn't do anything to stop it and she snorted at Peyton's advice to ignore it, continue on with their normal lives and he would go away.

"Aunt Brooke what did you get Aunt Peyton?" Jamie's small voice cut through Brooke's frustrated thoughts as the lady behind the counter handed Brooke a bag, two coffees and a tea.

"I got her a bagel and coffee, come on" Brooke answered the little boy's question and ushered him out of the shop and to her car, blatantly ignoring the question being asked to her by Ian.

"But those are gross, there not even sweet" Jamie turned his nose up while getting into the back of Brooke's SUV.

"She puts cream cheese on it buddy" Brooke told him getting in the driver's seat after she made sure he was strapped in properly.

"That's so much work" he said making Brooke chuckle as they pulled off.

Finally making their way to Tric, they headed for the stairs and Peyton's studio, and as Jamie ran ahead of Brooke she heard him call out to Peyton.

"Aunt Brooke's mad" Brooke heard him say while she carefully maneuvered the stairs in heels with the hot beverages in hand.

"Uh oh" Peyton said assessing Brooke who had just walked through the door. When Brooke rolled her eyes Peyton knew she really was mad, she just didn't know how mad, "What happened?" the blonde asked.

"Nothing" was the clipped response that Brooke delivered as she set the tray of cups on a table along with the bag she held, she'd thought she did a good job at hiding her mood from Jamie.

"Hey Jamie, Mia needs help in the booth with her song, you want to go see if you can inspire her?" Peyton asked so that she could talk to Brooke.

The only response she received was a huge smile right before he turned and ran for the booth door. Once she saw him and Mia playing around she turned to Brooke who was now seated in her chair at the soundboard.

"What happened?" Peyton asked Brooke again coming up to the table and leaning against it, sticking her Converse clad foot out to stop Brooke from spinning in the chair.

Brooke groaned when she saw Peyton raise her eyebrows expectantly, "Just that stupid Ian guy" was her frustrated reply.

"Brooke I thought we were going to ignore him?" the blonde asked trying to read her girlfriend's face.

"How exactly do you ignore someone who's always there Peyt?" the brunette asked sarcastically.

Peyton wanted to roll her eyes at Brooke's tones but she didn't, she hooked her foot beneath the chair and pulled it towards her.

"By pretending that he isn't there…focusing on more important stuff" she leaned forward and put her hands on the armrests of the chair as her voice dipped lower.

"Stuff like what?" Brooke's whisper was hoarse as Peyton crowded her.

"Well for one, fashion week is coming and we need to get ready to leave" Peyton whispered seductively as she brought her face a breath away from Brooke's.

"And?" Brooke continued to whisper, not knowing how long she would be able to play Peyton's game.

"Finishing Mia's album" Peyton said laughing internally when she saw Brooke swallow hard as their lips barely brushed.

"And-" Brooke started to ask again but was cut off when Peyton connected their lips. When Brooke felt Peyton slip her tongue in her mouth, she knew she moaned loudly, but they hadn't been _together_ in weeks and just a touch from the blonde sent delicious chills up her spine and down her thighs. Right as her hands slid around Peyton's hips to pull her closer, Mia began to sing into the microphone.

"James Lucas Scott and I would like our promised pastries, if you guys could hold off for a second I'm sure they would be tasty" the musician sang while strumming her guitar with Jamie laughing to the side of her.

"No" Brooke groaned and dropped her forehead on Peyton's shoulder at being interrupted from their time together again. When she felt Peyton laughing, she raised her head and scowled at her.

"Sorry" Peyton apologized while dropping a kiss on Brooke's frowning lips, moving away from her and to the bag to give the big babies in the sound booth their sugary treats that just couldn't wait.

"We got you an ugly doughnut Aunt Peyton" Jamie said as she entered the sound booth.

When Peyton looked in the bottom of the bag to see what Jamie had been talking about after handing out the doughnuts, she laughed when she saw the bagel. Looking back through the glass at Brooke who was still sitting at the soundboard, she smiled a little at the brunette who had pressed her forehead to the surface. Her poor baby was suffering from withdrawals.

"Brooke, where are your car keys?" Peyton yelled up the stairs aggravated, looking around the table by their front door for the keys.

"They're in the bowl on the table" Brooke yelled back down the stairs.

"No they're not" the blonde yelled back, "They should be, but they're not" she continued aloud to herself.

"I heard that" Brooke said as she descended the stairs.

"I didn't whisper it Brooke, it's no secret that you don't put things away" the blonde continued to look around the table for the missing keys as Brooke walked further in the room.

"Tone the obsessive compulsive down baby, they're right here" Brooke said pulling the keys from underneath her purse that was on the couch in the living room.

"Oh, that is the bowl on the table by the door" Peyton mocked, swiping the keys from Brooke's hand.

"Oh please, get over it. I'm never going to remember to put them there" Brooke said, redoing her ponytail that was coming loose.

"It's not a sophisticated system Brooke, I could label it or something" Peyton said frowning while she finally looked over her girlfriend's appearance. She had different color paint smears on her jeans and t-shirt.

"Baby, if I let you have your way, you would have labels and post its up all over, which doesn't really go with the décor" Brooke waved her hand around the living room to prove her point.

"Hey, you're the one that leaves post it's not me" Peyton leaned back against the table and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes still flicking across paint smears. _Even in her hair._

"Only when I'm not talking to you, and I can guarantee that if you started labeling stuff around here I would need a stack of post its" Brooke said, watching Peyton eye her.

"Brooke how the hell did you get paint all over yourself?" Peyton asked, not being able to hold her tongue any longer.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask" Brooke laughed at Peyton, "Look at you, you're silently going crazy over here because of a couple of smudges" she continued as she walked toward her.

"Brooke don't!" Peyton said right as Brooke wrapped her arms around her, "You have paint in your hair" she mumbled sullenly, she was sure her clothes probably had blue and brown smudges now as well.

"I know, I turned my back on Jamie for one minute…" she laughed at the memory.

"Is there even any paint on the walls?" Peyton asked as she tried to wiggle free.

"You see, this is exactly why you got disinvited to the painting party" the brunette said while walking Peyton backwards and using the table behind her to keep her pinned.

"Disinvited?" Peyton asked skeptically, "You kicked me out!" she said looking into playful brown eyes.

"Because you always turn into this psychotic version of Martha Stewart when we start to redecorate" Brooke said, laying a kiss on Peyton's cheek to soften the blow of her words.

"Right" Peyton rolled her eyes, "And just so that I remember, exactly how many coats of paint does your store have because it 'Just wasn't the right shade'" she asked, not willing to let Brooke forget she wasn't the only person in the house with a problem.

"That was different" Brooke said as she kissed Peyton's neck this time.

"How so?" Peyton asked, still unable to move her pinned arms.

"The painters were idiots" Brooke's kisses moved to Peyton's throat as she spoke.

"Brooke, Jamie" Peyton whispered when she felt her girlfriend's hand slip in the back of her pants.

"Shh" was whispered as Brooke gripped a handful of soft skin and moved her kisses across to her shoulder when Peyton moved her head to the side to give Brooke more room.

"Aunt Brooke?" a voice called from up the stairs.

"Coming buddy" she yelled after she halted her kisses and dropped her head on Peyton's shoulder for the second time that day, "Why do we keep getting stopped" Brooke moaned.

"Well it's a good thing, because Haley would totally kill us if Jamie caught us having sex" Peyton kissed Brooke's cheek and pulled away from her when the brunette's grip went slack.

"Peyton, I'm gonna fucking die like this" Brooke whispered forcefully and stomped her foot.

"Two more days baby, then Nate and Hales will be back and I promise you any flat surface in the house" Peyton smirked as she moved to the door.

"No! Anywhere, I deserve anywhere at this point" Brooke mumbled the last part like a small child, "Where are you going?" she asked Peyton.

"I left my contracts in your car, if I can't paint with the 'cool kids' I might as well read over rights and liabilities" the blonde paused in the doorway to make the comment.

"Peyton, I'm owed" Brooke said turning for the stairs, "I swear I'll tie you down to the bed" she continued walking up the stairs.

"We've never used rope before" Peyton laughed as she saw Brooke disappear around the corner.


End file.
